Bolsonaro says Brazilians are “appalled by the repression of freedoms” by Judiciary

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday (19) that the country’s citizens are “appalled by the repression of freedoms,” referring to judicial actions against politicians such as the surprise arrest of former congressman and national leader of the Brazilian Workers’ Party (PTB) Roberto Jefferson.

“Freedom has no price,” it is “more important than life itself,” and “now we see the population being frightened by the suppression of freedoms decided by a few,” he said in a clear allusion to the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF).

The STF claims it is investigating extremist groups using the Internet to call for the “closure” of the Court and Congress. In recent weeks, the Judiciary has tightened its measures against what they call anti-democratic activities, but at the same time, has increasingly exposed itself to accusations of acting arbitrarily and more like a prosecutor than a Court.

Speaking at an event in Cuiabá in Mato Grosso state on Thursday, the president encouraged “the people” to participate in demonstrations against the Supreme Court and Congress, planned for September 7 to mark Brazil’s Independence Day.

Read also: Brazil’s Supreme Court is setting precedents potentially dangerous to democracy

“If you ask me where I will be on September 7, you know that I will be where the people are,” Bolsonaro said, adding that “no one has to worry about this movement” because “the people are orderly, patriotic and for the most part believe in God and family.”

Bolsonaro stressed that “conservatives” and “good citizens” are “being stifled by a minority” that “seeks to control all freedoms,” but assured that “the people” are “united” to “change Brazil’s destiny.”

Bolsonaro’s conflict with the Supreme Court and the Electoral Court is multifaceted. It includes his doubts of the Court’s rulings regarding the mainstream narrative in the fight against the Coronavirus, as well as his criticism of the electronic voting system, which he  has called fraudulent without presenting evidence.

BOLSONARO WANTS TO IMPEACH SUPREME COURT JUSTICES

Jair Bolsonaro announced on August 14, that he will ask Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against two Supreme Court Justices who have ordered legal action against him, whom he accuses of violating the Constitution.

The announcement was a new step in the institutional crisis the country is experiencing due to the confrontation between the head of state and members of the country’s highest court, who claim to be trying to curb abuses.

Bolsonaro’s move came only one day after the STF ordered the arrest of Roberto Jefferson, head of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), an act that surprised many.

Bolsonaro’s message is aimed primarily at Justices Luis Roberto Barroso, a member of the Supreme Court but also president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and Justice Alexander de Moraes.

IS THE SUPREME COURT BEYOND CRITICISM?

In July, a columnist for Folha de S. Paulo, a newspaper of reference in Brazil, reported that the STF has recently adopted unorthodox measures and largely ignored the Federal Prosecutor General’s office, in an attempt to contain the Bolsonarist onslaught against other governmental institutions.

Folha wrote that specialists fear that actions taken by the STF outside the usual rules – which call for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to be involved in investigations – could create a dangerous precedent for democracy. The current Federal Prosecutor General (PGR) Augusto Aras, is seen by critics as being unusually favorable to President Bolsonaro, an attitude said to be designed to win him a seat on the STF next year.

That seems to be why Senators Alessandro Vieira and Fabiano Contarato recently filed a criminal complaint in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) against the Federal Prosecutor General (PGR), Augusto Aras, alleging the crime of dereliction of duty (malfeasance).

USP Law School professor Rafael Mafei compares the relationship between the Planalto Palace and the STF to a soccer match in which tempers flare and fouls become increasingly harsher. “In these cases, there are only two possible outcomes: either the opposing party is intimidated and retreats, or it escalates into a generalized clash and the game stops.”

“Today it’s very difficult to say what the outcome will be, whether it will be positive or negative in the end. It largely depends on who wins the 2022 elections,” the professor says.